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By Tom Bateman • Updated: 14/07/2021
Europe’s carmakers are tackling the shift to electric vehicles (EVs) with, it’s fair to say, varying levels of enthusiasm.
But as ten European countries and dozens of cities plan to ban sales of new internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles by 2035, companies are increasingly realising that they can’t afford to be left behind.
Another issue is the infrastructure they need. Data analysis by industry lobby group ACEA found that 70 per cent of all EU EV charging stations are concentrated in just three countries in Western Europe: the Netherlands (66,665), France (45,751) and Germany (44,538).
Despite the major obstacles, if last week’s “EV day” of announcements by one of the world’s biggest car manufacturers, Stellantis, proved one thing it’s that electric cars are here to stay.
But how long will it take for Europe’s cars to go fully electric?
BMW Group
The German carmaker has set itself a relatively low target compared to some others on this list, with the goal of at least 50 per cent of sales to be “electrified” by 2030.BMW subsidiary Mini has loftier ambitions, claiming to be on track to become fully electric by “the beginning of the coming decade”. According to the manufacturer, just over 15 per cent of Minis sold in 2021 have been electric.
Daimler
The company behind Mercedes-Benz previously announced it would phase out ICE cars by 2039. But now there are suggestions it could be speeding up the shift to electric.According to German trade magazine Automobilwoche, Daimler CEO Ola Källenius will announce a plan to go all-electric by the end of this decade in July.
Ferrari
Don’t hold your breath. While the Italian supercar maker plans to reveal its first all-electric car in 2025, former CEO Louis Camilieri said last year he believed the company would never go all in on electric.Ford
While the recently announced all-American, all-electric F150 Lightning pickup truck has turned heads in the US, Ford’s European arm is where the electric action is.Ford says that by 2030, all of its passenger vehicles sold in Europe will be all-electric. It also claims that two-thirds of its commercial vehicles will be either electric or hybrids by the same year.
Honda
2040 is the date Honda CEO Toshihiro Mibe has set for the company to phase out ICE vehicles.The Japanese company had already committed to selling only “electrified” – meaning electric or hybrid – vehicles in Europe by 2022.
Hyundai
In May, Reuters reported that Korea-based Hyundai planned to cut the number of fossil fuel-powered cars in its line-up by half, in order to concentrate development efforts on EVs.The manufacturer says it’s aiming for full electrification in Europe by 2040.
Jaguar Land Rover
The British conglomerate announced in February that its Jaguar brand would go fully electric by 2025. The shift for Land Rover will be, well, slower.The company says 60 per cent of Land Rovers sold in 2030 will be zero-emissions. That coincides with the date of when its home market, the UK, is banning the sale of new ICE vehicles.
Renault Group
France’s best selling carmaker last month revealed plans for 90 per cent of its vehicles to be fully electric by 2030.To achieve this the company hopes to launch 10 new EVs by 2025, including a revamped, electrified version of the 90s classic Renault 5. Boy racers rejoice.
Stellantis
The megacorp formed by a merger of Peugeot and Fiat-Chrysler earlier this year made a big EV announcement last week.Its German brand Opel will go fully electric in Europe by 2028, the company said, while 98 per cent of its models in Europe and North America will be fully electric or electric hybrids by 2025.
Toyota
An early pioneer of electric hybrids with the Prius, Toyota says it will release 15 new battery-powered EVs by 2025.It’s a show of effort from a company – the world’s biggest car manufacturer – that has seemed content to rest on its laurels. Last year CEO Akio Toyoda reportedly ranted about battery EVs at the company’s annual general meeting, falsely claiming that they were more polluting than internal combustion vehicles.
Volkswagen
For a company that has repeatedly faced fines for cheating in emissions tests, VW appears to be taking the transition to electric seriously.Volkswagen has said it aims for all of its cars to be battery-electric by 2035.
“This means that Volkswagen will probably produce the last vehicles with internal combustion engines for the European market between 2033 and 2035,” the company said.
Volvo
Perhaps it isn’t surprising that a Swedish car company from the land of “flygskam” plans to phase out all ICE vehicles by 2030.“There is no long-term future for cars with an internal combustion engine,” Volvo’s chief technology officer Henrik Green said during an announcement of the manufacturer’s plans earlier this year.
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Quite away off then, ?
The UK insurance industry is also coming on board by planning to replace all written off or stolen ICE vehicles with EVs. So definitely moving in the right direction.
No doubt as more and more extreme weather events occur, not just in Europe, even the “Trumps” might see the obvious. However I think it might be the stick rather than logic that convinces them lol!No I’m not Wigwam, I’m merely reiterating the conclusions of the top climate scientists all over the World. I’m sure some of the “scientists” you quote would disagree as would the politicians you tend to quote ( a la Trump)?
The replacement of ICE by less polluting technology is when not if. Just as metal replaced flint progress will move forward. The question is whether we have the intelligence to stop trashing the planet.
Daf, there’s no point me debating with someone who has such a closed mind that anyone who disagrees with their world view is labelled along with Trump.
If you believe the top world climate scientists (as you call them) have your interests at heart, you maybe want to read and research more widely, but I understand it if you don’t.
It’ll be a long long time before every vehicle is fully electric, and even then I think it won’t be possible to go 100% as ICE will still be required for certain situations… but for the majority of regular users then sooner the better but unfortunately these companies are still playing with words. By saying “electrified” and “mild hybrid” they mean these vehicles will still use an ICE but probably a 48v system so it can pull away from stationary on electric and go straight into 2nd or 3rd gear.
I know 2040 sounds like a long time away but it’s closer than 2000 is and that doesn’t seem such a long time ago… well to me anyway ?
Guess it depends on your age, maybe some won’t be around 2040, 2030 even maybe less..
The infrastructure is going to be the problem, I wanted an EV this time, but was told I did not have a big enough electric cable to my house, as it is looped from the house next .door, I was quoted a few thousand pound price to have a new cable installed, plus the hassle of having my paved drive ripped up to have the cable fitted.
It is not only cables up peoples drives, when everybody wants to charge cars in the street, the cables in the street will need to be larger, sub-stations will need upgrading, more 132Kv overhead lines will be needed, as well as more power stations needing building all before 2030 -35.
I am not being pessimistic, just a realist.
<p style=”text-align: left;”>Chris Grayling is the man for the job. His track record is without equal.</p>
When I read these posts it makes me wonder what the views were like when cars replaced horses……
The horse users batting for horses despite the muck, the liquid they produce, the lack of performance and constant need to feed them. They also needed regular replacement.
The car owners taking a brave pill and moving away from traditional methods recognising that it might not be perfect yet but what could it be……
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